JORGE PRADO & LEVI KITCHEN CROWNED 2026 SMX WORLD CHAMPIONS

RIDGEDALE, Mo. — The 2026 Monster Energy SuperMotocross World Championship is officially in the books.

After an entire season of Supercross, Pro Motocross and three pressure-packed SMX Playoff rounds, Jorge Prado is the 2026 450SMX World Champion and Levi Kitchen is the 2026 250SMX World Champion.

Both titles were decided Saturday night at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri, where triple points turned the final two motos of the year into a championship pressure cooker.

And fittingly, neither champion took the easy route.

Haiden Deegan won the 450SMX finale overall. Cole Davies swept both 250SMX motos. But when the final checkered flag of 2026 flew, Prado and Kitchen had done exactly what they needed to do.

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JORGE PRADO FINISHES THE JOB IN 450SMX

Jorge Prado arrived at Thunder Ridge carrying the red plate and a 16-point advantage over Haiden Deegan and Hunter Lawrence.

With triple points available, that lead offered some breathing room — but nowhere near enough to cruise through the night.

Moto 1 immediately turned up the pressure.

Deegan launched out front and delivered one of his strongest 450 performances yet, leading all 17 laps and taking the win ahead of Ken Roczen and Hunter Lawrence.

Prado, meanwhile, found himself buried outside the top nine early.

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider went to work, climbing through the field and eventually getting around RJ Hampshire for fifth. Cooper Webb remained just ahead of him in fourth when the checkered flag came out.

The opening result was:

Deegan P1. Prado P5.

Suddenly, the championship fight had tightened considerably.

Then came Moto 2.

With the entire 2026 season hanging in the balance, Prado responded like a rider who has been in championship situations before.

The #26 won the final 450SMX moto of the year.

That victory completed a 5-1 night for Prado and gave him second overall at the finale — exactly what he needed to finish the job and secure the 2026 450SMX World Championship.

Deegan's 1-2 scores earned him the Thunder Ridge overall victory, while Hunter Lawrence's consistent 3-3 night put him third overall.

But the championship belonged to Prado.

After taking over the red plate during the SMX postseason and extending his advantage with the overall victory in Los Angeles, Prado came into Missouri in control of his own destiny.

He left as a champion.

It is Prado's first championship in the United States and adds a SuperMotocross crown to a résumé that already includes four FIM Motocross World Championships.

450SMX — THUNDER RIDGE OVERALL

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LEVI KITCHEN HOLDS HIS NERVE FOR THE 250SMX TITLE

If Prado had a little room to work with entering Missouri, Levi Kitchen had almost none.

The Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider arrived at the finale with 87 points, just three ahead of Ryder DiFrancesco at 84.

Under a triple-points format, essentially everything was still on the table.

Kitchen could not afford a bad moto.

He responded by grabbing the Moto 1 holeshot.

The #47 controlled the opening portion of the race while Cole Davies worked his way forward. Davies eventually caught Kitchen late in the moto and, with roughly two minutes remaining, used the outside line through the sand to make the pass for the lead.

Davies won the moto by just over two seconds.

Kitchen finished second.

Most importantly for the championship, DiFrancesco finished third.

Everything would come down to Moto 2.

Davies was once again the fastest rider on the track and completed a perfect night with another victory, giving the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider a dominant 1-1 sweep and the Thunder Ridge overall.

Behind him, Kitchen remained exactly where he needed to be.

Second place.

A second consecutive runner-up finish gave Kitchen a 2-2 score and second overall for the night.

DiFrancesco, Kitchen's closest championship challenger, finished 10th in Moto 2 and seventh overall with 3-10 scores.

That was enough.

Levi Kitchen is the 2026 250SMX World Champion.

Kitchen's championship run was built on consistency when it mattered most. He won the rain-soaked opening playoff in Columbus with 2-2 scores, survived a difficult first moto in Los Angeles before winning Moto 2, and entered the finale still holding the red plate.

Then, with the biggest prize of the year on the line, he went 2-2 again.

No panic. No unnecessary risk. Just two championship-caliber rides.

250SMX — THUNDER RIDGE OVERALL

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TWO RACE WINNERS. TWO WORLD CHAMPIONS.

Thunder Ridge produced an unusual but fitting ending to the 2026 season.

Haiden Deegan won the 450SMX finale, but Jorge Prado won the championship.

Cole Davies dominated the 250SMX finale, but Levi Kitchen won the championship.

That distinction tells the story of the SMX postseason.

The final round may pay triple points, but the championship is still built across every gate drop that comes before it.

Prado put himself in position with a strong opening playoff and his Los Angeles victory, then delivered a Moto 2 win when the title came under pressure in Missouri.

Kitchen carried the red plate into the final, absorbed everything his challengers threw at him, and answered with two second-place finishes when there was virtually no room for error.

Thirty-one rounds after the 2026 Monster Energy SuperMotocross season began, the final checkered flag has fallen.

Jorge Prado: 2026 450SMX World Champion.
Levi Kitchen: 2026 250SMX World Champion.

The 2026 season is complete.

Hero photos: Align Media.